EXPRESSION OF RAS P21 IN THE STROMAL CELLS OF HUMAN NEOPLASTIC ENDOMETRIUM

ras p21 proteins have been reported to take part in signal transductio n through a cell membrane to the nucleus and they also play a crucial role in the process of carcinogenesis. Forty specimens of neoplastic e ndometrium, ten slides of normal endometrium and one case of uterine c arcinosarcoma were investigated for ms p21 expression in the stromal c ells by immunohistochemistry. Stromal cells expressed ras p21 protein in 13 out of 40 (33%) cases of neoplastic endometrium. These cells wer e randomly dispersed wound the glandular crypts of the endometrium and were also detected in the adjacent myometrium surrounding the cancer tissue. When cancers were grouped by surgical stage, ms p21 protein wa s detected in 11/22 (50%) of stage I, but only in 2/18 (11%) of stages II-IV according to FIGO. None of the stromal cells immunostained for p21 in normal endometrium or myometrium, however, a single case of car cinosarcoma expressed ras p21 within the stromal cells.